World Family Policy Center Newsletter

* News relative to protecting the family worldwide *

 

Volume 3 Issue 17 - May 26, 2004

 

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:  “Children have the best chance for a normal

life by living with a mother and a father, of different genders.  This ideal

does not spring from religion or prejudice.  Common sense dictates such. Thousands of years in a lab of innumerable cultures and faiths support the proposition.  . . . Marriage exclusively between a man and a woman is a

violation of no one’s civil rights.  Governments have uniformly reached

consensus on that limitation for self-preservation reasons.  Those with

biological capabilities for procreation warrant special status for the role

they will play in preserving society by repopulating it with responsible

citizens[.]”

                                                                                                                  

   —Marianne M. Jennings, professor of legal and ethical studies, Arizona State University

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Today’s Contents:

 

A. Featured Articles:

 

       1. Bush Renews Call for Same-sex Marriage Ban

          Related Article:Conservatives Demand Passage of Federal Marriage

                         Amendment

          Related Article: Same-sex Couple Flaunts 'Open Marriage'

          Related Article: Dark Days at Disney World

 

       2. Britain opens stem-cell bank

 

       3. New Pro-Life Bill Addresses Babies' Pain During Abortions

 

       4. More Teen Girls Having Sex, Study Shows

          Related Article:  Increase in STDs Among Teens Has Pro-Family

                        Group Worried

 

B. Coming Events

                                   

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FEATURED ARTICLES

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1. Bush Renews Call for Same-sex Marriage Ban

Gay men, lesbians marry in Massachusetts

 

From Dana Bash

CNN Washington Bureau

May 17, 2004

         

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As same-sex couples began exchanging

wedding vows in Massachusetts, President Bush on Monday reiterated

his call for a U.S. constitutional amendment banning such marriages.

 

"The sacred institution of marriage should not be redefined by a few

activist judges. All Americans have a right to be heard in this debate,"

the president said in a written statement.

 

"I called on the Congress to pass, and to send to the states for

ratification, an amendment to our Constitution defining and

protecting marriage as a union of a man and a woman as husband

and wife. The need for that amendment is still urgent, and I repeat

that call today."

 

To read entire article:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/05/17/bush.gay/index.html

 

Related Article:

Conservatives Demand Passage of Federal Marriage Amendment

By Susan Jones

CNSNews.com Morning Editor

May 17, 2004

 

(CNSNews.com) - The Christian Coalition of America is urging the

U.S. Congress to "live up to its responsibilities" by passing the

Federal Marriage Amendment this summer.

 

In a press release, the Christian Coalition said an amendment banning

same-sex "marriage" is the only way to "rein in the judicial tyranny r

unning rampant in America."

 

To read entire article:

http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200405\CUL20040517a.html

 

Related Article:

Same-sex Couple Flaunts 'Open Marriage'

Worldnetdaily.com

May 19, 2004

To read entire article:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38537

 

Related Article:

Dark Days at Disney World

by: Allan Dobras   

                            

With "Gay Days at Disney World" and other gay-friendly events, the

theme park has become a destination of choice for the homosexual

community.  . . . Disney World would not refund any money to

unsuspecting families who were disturbed by what they experienced

in the park during "Gay Days."

 

To read entire article:                                   

http://www.frc.org then scroll down the Dark Days at Disney World

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2. Britain opens stem-cell bank

The world's first national repository opened this week north of London,

angering anti-abortion groups.

 

By Mark Rice-Oxley | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

 

LONDON – Scientists say it could change modern medicine. Opponents

dismiss it as playing God, the ethical equivalent of Nazi death-camp

experiments.

 

Stem-cell research - which involves exploring the use of cells as possible

therapies for a range of diseases - is nothing if not contentious, and this

week Britain moved into the heart of the controversy by setting up the

world's first "bank" for storing and distributing the tiny fragments of

proto-life.

 

To read entire article:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0521/p01s04-woeu.html

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3. New Pro-Life Bill Addresses Babies' Pain During Abortions

By Susan Jones

CNSNews.com Morning Editor

May 20, 2004

 

(CNSNews.com) - Two Republicans, one from the Senate and one from

the House, are introducing what they call a "major new piece of pro-life legislation."

 

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) were

holding a press conference Thursday morning to discuss the Unborn

Child Pain Awareness Act.

 

The legislation would require abortionists ending pregnancies beyond

the 20th week to inform the mother about the pain the unborn baby

would feel during the abortion - and to give the mother the option of

having pain-killers administered directly to the unborn baby.

 

To read entire article:

http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200405\NAT20040520a.html

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4. More Teen Girls Having Sex, Study Shows

By Cheryl Wetzstein

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

May 21, 2004

 

Teen sexual activity has stabilized, although more teenage girls are

saying they have had intercourse, a federal report says.

 

In 2003, 46.7 percent of teens said they had had sexual intercourse, the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its new

Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey. This is statistically the

same as 2001, when 45.6 percent of teens said they had had sexual

intercourse, the CDC said.

 

To read entire article:

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040520-114558-8056r.htm

 

Related Article:

Increase in STDs Among Teens Has Pro-Family Group Worried

By Melanie Hunter

CNSNews.com Deputy Managing Editor

May 25, 2004

 

(CNSNews.com) - Although recent statistics show a decrease in the

number of teens having sex, a recent study shows an increase in sexual

transmitted diseases among teens.

 

A study published in Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health

revealed that 18.9 million new STD cases occurred in 2000 alone. Of

those, 9.1 million or 48 percent were among 15 to 24-year-olds.

 

"This increase in STDs only confirms what we already know about

condoms - that even when used in perfect conditions, condoms are

unreliable at best in preventing pregnancy and the spread of sexually

transmitted diseases," said Focus on the Family Abstinence Policy

Manager Linda Klepacki in a statement.

 

"Comprehensive sex-ed advocates continue to withhold vital information

from our youth by assuring them that condoms provide security from the consequences of teenage sexual activity," she added.

 

http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200405\CUL20040525b.html

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COMING EVENTS   

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October 6 -7, 2005

The Pacific and Asian Family Dialogue

Manila, Philippines

.......................

 

November 29-30, 2004

The Doha International Conference for the Family

Doha, Qatar

 

The Doha International Conference for the Family follow upon the

celebration of the International Year of the Family and will be a

two-day conference in Doha, Qatar, under the patronage of Her

Highness Sheikha Mouza Bint Nasser Al-Misnad., Consort of His

Highness The Emir of Qatar and President of Supreme Council for

Family Affairs, State of Qatar.

 

The conference represents an international assemblage, bringing

together international VIPs, governmental and non-governmental

organizations (NGOs), scholars, academicians, and civil society

leaders who will be invited by the State of Qatar to participate in

a family conference.  This conference will call upon all nations of

the world to restate the principles related to family life embodied

in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to adhere to

values and endeavor to promote the role of the family as it is the

natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to

protection by society and state.

 

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Note: The preceding article excerpts are highlights of current events and

do not necessarily represent the views of the World Family Policy Center

or Brigham Young University.

 

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Newsletter created and distributed by:

World Family Policy Center

J. Reuben Clark Law School

Brigham Young University

 

Managing Director:      Richard Wilkins

Executive Director:     A. Scott Loveless

 

Newsletter Editors: Joy S. Lundberg and Gary B. Lundberg

 

If you have any articles, editorials, or papers you would like

circulated through the WFPC News network, you may submit them to

lundberg@lawgate.byu.edu

 

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